


Magnificent Silhouette

by CharacteristicallyMinor



Category: The Bridge (Podcast)
Genre: F/F, but it's cute and gay before that, fair warning: laura does still turn into a statue at the end of this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-26 20:56:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13865856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharacteristicallyMinor/pseuds/CharacteristicallyMinor
Summary: Having a secret fling with a beautiful actress was the kind of thing that happened in movies, not real life. And it certainly didn't happen to Watchtower interns.





	Magnificent Silhouette

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Erin McKeown's cover of Jenny by the Mountain Goats.

Etta first met Laura the day before filming started. Roger had gone over to the set to check that it complied with regulations, and he’d brought Etta along. He’d said it would give her some much-needed experience interacting with guests, since opportunities for that were increasingly rare nowadays.

Once they arrived, Roger had quickly gotten into an argument with some set designer about lights. After a couple of minutes, it was clear that this was going to take a while. Etta had taken the opportunity to slip away and have a look around. 

“Excuse me, but do you work on the Bridge?” Etta turned around and saw a woman. She was clearly one of the actresses; nobody looked that perfect and put together in real life.

“Y-yup, I do. Bridge intern, that’s me. And you’re an actress, right?”

The woman smiled. It was a very nice smile.

“I am! I’m Laura.”

“I’m Etta.”

“So, Etta, I was wondering- could you tell me about what it’s like to live on the Bridge? It seems like such an interesting place to live.”

On one hand, Roger would be expecting her back soon. On the other hand, a Bridge guest was asking Etta for help, and it would be downright irresponsible for her to refuse. After all, everything for the guest.

“I’d love to. I’ve gotta warn you, though. I’m still pretty new here. I’ve only been working here for a couple of months.”

“That’s perfect! That means it’s not all routine for you yet. So tell me, what’s it like being here during a storm?”

Roger found them about an hour later, still deep in conversation.

“Etta, we’re leaving.”

“Thanks for all the help! It was lovely meeting you.”

“It was a pleasure to meet you, too. I’m always happy to help people learn more about the Bridge.”

“Is there some way I can contact you, if I have any more questions?” 

“Oh, uh, yeah, here’s the Watchtower phone number.” Etta scrawled it down on a piece of scrap paper and handed it to Laura. 

“Thanks,” Laura said with a smile. 

Etta hurried off to join Roger. Much to her relief, he was too annoyed with the set designer to care what she’d been doing.

Not that she’d been doing anything wrong. Taking initiative and being a resource for a guest was entirely within her job description. And, well, if the guest was extremely attractive and had maybe been flirting with her, that was just a bonus.

* * *

 

“Tonight you can expect clear skies. If you’re planning on driving through the night, this is a good night to do it.”

Etta wished that Roger would let her air something more interesting than the same old traffic report. She’d been considering just doing it behind his back, but that would have to wait until the filming was done. Roger was even more on edge than usual now that there were actual guests on the Bridge near them. 

Etta’s thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing. She jumped a little, startled. It hadn’t done that since she had started her internship. 

“Hello?”

“Hi, uh, this is Laura. The actress, from earlier?”

“Laura! Hi! Uh, did you have more questions about the Bridge?”

“I actually do have one question that I didn’t get a chance to ask you earlier.” Laura sounded a bit nervous. 

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Do you, uh, want to meet up when you’re done with your shift? Like, as a date?” Etta almost dropped the phone, but managed to keep hold of it. 

“Oh, wow. Yeah, I’d love to.” She hadn’t expected Laura to actually ask her out. They’d been flirting, sure, but she hadn’t expected it to turn into anything. Laura was a gorgeous actress, and Etta was… well, herself. “Actually, the traffic report was the last thing I had to do tonight, so I’m done with work.”

“Awesome. I can pick you up in about forty-five minutes?”

“Sounds good!”

Etta rushed off to get changed. The only nice clothes she’d packed were business clothes; she hadn’t expected to be going on any dates out here. After some digging, she finally found a top that looked reasonably date-appropriate when paired with jeans. She threw on a little makeup- not too much, since Laura had already seen her makeup-free this morning and would know that she’d put it on specifically for the date. 

She wondered whether she was supposed to leave a note or something. She honestly couldn’t remember if there was any protocol for leaving the Watchtower during her free time. No one had done it since she’d started working, since there wasn’t really anywhere to go.

She settled on leaving a note on her bed. If someone came looking for her, they’d know where she was, and that way she didn’t have to awkwardly announce she was going on a date. Especially since there was a possibility that dating Bridge guests was frowned upon. Etta hadn’t really paid much attention to that part of the employee handbook, since she really hadn’t thought it would be relevant. 

It was probably fine. And, well, even if it wasn’t, it wasn’t like anyone was going to even realize she was gone.

She slipped out of the watchtower a few minutes before Laura said she’d be there.

Almost exactly forty-five minutes after their phone call, Laura pulled up in front of the watchtower.

“Hey,” Laura said as Etta got in the car.

“Hey yourself. You look very cute tonight.” It was true. Laura was wearing a dark blue top made of slightly shiny material, dark jeans, and black leather boots. 

“Thanks. You do too,” Laura replied. She started driving as Etta put on her seatbelt. “So, what’s there to do around here?” 

“Well, it’s mostly empty road for a long while in both directions. There’s a museum to the west, by Watchtower 9, but it’s been closed for a few years. Pretty much everything’s closed, nowadays.”

“So, what do you usually do for fun?”

“Fun? Read books, watch movies, play cards, start prank wars.” It wasn’t really helpful for figuring out what they were going to do for their date, but it was true.

“Ooh, cards sounds fun. My family was strictly a board game family, growing up, so I never got the chance to learn many card games.”

“Maybe I could teach you some time?” Etta asked. As soon as she said it, she realized that assuming another date would happen so soon into their first date was probably a huge faux pas, but Laura just smiled.

“I look forward to it. For now, do you want to go look at the stars?”

“That sounds nice.”

They pulled over at the next abandoned rest stop and sat on the hood of the car.

“Do you know any of the constellations?” Etta asked.

“Not as many as I did when I was a kid, but I can still find the Big Dipper and a few others. Want me to show you?”

Pointing out the stars gave Laura a good excuse to wrap an arm around Etta. It wasn’t a particularly cold night, but Etta still appreciated the heat of Laura’s body next to hers. 

Once Laura exhausted her knowledge of constellations, they settled into a comfortable conversation. They carefully avoided touching on overly personal topics, but the conversation flowed like they’d known each other for years. Laura told Etta about being raised by her dad and the first few movies she’d acted in. While Etta didn’t talk about her childhood much, she told Laura about some of her favorite college classes she’d taken. They even discovered a mutual love of Broadway musicals.

After a few hours, it was late enough that they had no choice but to part ways. The idea of spending all night talking to each other was romantic, sure, but the idea of being exhausted and barely functional the next day didn’t appeal. 

Laura drove Etta back to the Watchtower. Etta hesitated before opening the door, pausing a moment before leaning over to kiss Laura.

“Will I see you again, or will you be too busy with filming?”

“For you I’ll make time. The first day of filming will probably run late; does the day after tomorrow work for you?”

They made plans to meet up the night after next, this time meeting in the middle so neither of them would have to do too much driving. 

Etta leaned in for another kiss, then got out of the car and headed inside. Before closing the door, she looked back out at Laura. When Laura caught her looking, she grinned and waved before backing out and heading back onto the main road. Etta went inside with a matching smile on her face.

* * *

 

As far as Etta could tell, no one noticed her absence. Bertie commented on her good mood, but he didn’t make the connection to the film.

She considered telling him about Laura, but she didn’t. She still wasn’t sure whether she was breaking some sort of rule, dating Laura. And besides, it was kind of fun having a secret fling. And a secret fling with an actress, no less. It was like something from a movie.

Etta wasn’t the only one in a good mood. When Etta finally saw Laura again, Laura was practically glowing.

“You’re in a good mood tonight,” Etta said, smiling. It was hard not to smile, seeing Laura so happy.

“I’m excited to see you, silly!” Laura leaned in, quickly pressing a kiss to Etta’s lips. “Well, and filming has been going really well. We’re ahead of schedule, and apparently I have really good onscreen chemistry with Nina.”

“Should I be jealous?” Etta joked. 

“Well, she is very cute,” Laura teased. “On the other hand, she’s getting married next May. Besides, I already have an even cuter girl to spend time with.”

“Oh really? Do tell me about her,” Etta said. 

“Well, she’s a really good storyteller, and she has the nicest voice. About your height, with hair about as long as yours, and face as cute as yours…” at that, Etta pulled Laura in for another kiss, longer this time. 

“Seriously, though, I’m glad filming’s going so well,” Etta said. “Just talking to you, I can tell it’s amazing watching you act. There’s no doubt in my mind that people will love watching your performance.”

“Thanks! It would be good for the Bridge if the movie did well, too, right? It might even make some people decide to come out here,” Laura said.

“I think so, yeah,” Etta said. “The Bridge isn’t what it used to be, back in its heyday, but it’s still pretty impressive.”

“What happened, anyways? Why is it so abandoned? When I was younger, I remember hearing commercials for Aqualand on the radio and begging my dad to take me there. It never happened, of course, but I know people who went. But now it’s so empty here. I swear, I don’t think I’ve seen a single car go by that wasn’t heading to the set.”

“You probably haven’t. It’s kind of a ghost town here. It was kind of a domino effect; each attraction that closed meant fewer people who came, which didn’t help the remaining attractions out. And, well, Aqualand was a terrible idea.”

“Why?”

Etta considered what she could tell Laura. There was a lot that she couldn’t say to someone who didn’t work on the Bridge, who didn’t know its secrets. She didn’t want to outright lie, though.

“It just—it wasn’t safe. I’m not sure there’s a way to make something like that safe, really. That’s the problem with a lot of the Bridge; it’s inherently not safe, and that makes for a poor tourist trap.”

“You know, telling me that while I’m standing in the middle of it, hundreds of miles from dry land, isn’t very reassuring. I’d hope that the engineers would be a bit better than that.”

“Oh, no, the engineering’s fine. You don’t have to worry about that. The physical structure is probably the safest aspect of the Bridge. No, it’s the location that’s the danger. Being so far from the mainland, in the middle of the ocean—well, it’s very isolated. People go missing, weird things happen.”

“Ooh, creepy. Maybe we should be filming a horror movie instead of a romcom. The isolation’s gotta be good for serial killers or human trafficking or something. I’m going to make extra sure that my door and windows are locked tonight.”

“That’s probably a good idea. But for now—I promised to teach you a few card games.” Etta held up the pack of cards. 

“You remembered!” Laura said, clearly delighted.

It turned out that Laura had some innate skill at cards. She had racked up a fairly impressive winning streak by the time they called it quits for the night.

“I still think you must have played before. No one’s that good with no practice.”

“Nah, it’s all pure, raw talent. I’m clearly a card-playing prodigy.”

“Or beginner’s luck. We’ll have to test that another time, see if this was just a fluke.”

“Those are fighting words! I’m down for that, but not next time—I’m bringing my laptop, and you’re going to watch The Sting with me. I can’t believe you’ve never seen it before.”

“Sounds good. I’m going to be busy the next couple of days, but I can do the day after that?”

“Works for me. Actually, do you want to come to my hotel to watch the movie? I know that’ll mean more driving for you, but it’ll be more comfortable than watching the movie in a car.”

“That sounds great.” Etta couldn’t help but wonder how much movie-watching they’d actually be doing. While she didn’t buy into the idea that the third date had to involve sex, spending time in what was essentially Laura’s temporary bedroom would be a lot more intimate than their parking lot dates had been.

Well, if that was what Laura was planning, Etta had no objections.

Laura leaned over. It was meant to be a quick goodnight kiss at first, but Etta couldn’t resist deepening it. It soon became more heated, until they finally had to pause for breath.

After that, they did split up for the night. When Etta got in her car, she realized that her hair was mussed from Laura’s hand in it. It was a good look on her, if she did say so herself, although she tried to fix it on the off chance she ran into someone coming back to the Watchtower.

She was glad that she did. When Etta got back to the Watchtower, Roger was still awake.

“Heyyyyyy, Roger.”

“Where were you?”

“Just, y’know, taking a nice drive. In the middle of the night.”

She’d expected Roger to be annoyed, but instead he looked worried. “Is there something luring you out there? Some creature? If it’s promised you something, it’s lying. You can’t trust it.”

Well, that was the last thing she’d expected him to say.

“Oh my god, Roger. No. That’s not what’s happening at all. Look, you know the movie that’s filming near here? I’ve kind of been meeting up with one of the actresses.” Roger looked confused. “Like, in a dating way.”

“Ohhhhh. That’s… way better than I expected. I mean, there are still rules about employees not dating the guests, so that’s not great. But at least you’re not being lured to a watery grave.”

“I too prefer the option that doesn’t involve me dying. Glad we figured out that. If that’s all, I’m going to head off to bed?”

“Wait. The rules against dating the guests are there for a reason. They’re there to make sure that you don’t give away Bridge secrets. I shouldn’t have to remind you what could happen if someone finds out about the specimen?”

“I know. Trust me, I’d never put Bob in danger like that. This isn’t even a real relationship, just a fling. She’ll be back on the mainland in a few weeks, after all. I’m not going to give away Bridge secrets to the first pretty face that crosses my path.”

“Good. See that you don’t. I’m not going to report you unless you give me reason to believe that this relationship is endangering our work. But be careful and don’t tell her anything about the Bridge that isn’t public knowledge.”

“Will do. Goodnight,” Etta rushed off before Roger could change his mind about being done with the conversation.

When she was safe in her room, Etta relaxed. That could have been much worse.

She was glad that they weren’t meeting up for a couple of nights. She’d been annoyed when she realized that she’d be working later shifts the next couple of nights, but it seemed like it was for the best now. Best to let things get back to normal with Roger before going on another date. 

The day after their conversation, there was still tension between Roger and Etta. It dissipated gradually, as Etta concluded that Roger wasn’t going to change his mind about reporting her, and Roger found something else to be annoyed about. If the others noticed that they were a little on edge, they didn’t comment on it. Well, it wasn’t the first time Etta had had a disagreement with Roger. They’d probably just chalked it up to that.

Etta wondered whether she should mention Laura to Bertie, now that she wasn’t trying to keep the relationship a secret from Roger. It would be nice to have someone to talk to, and Roger didn’t exactly count. But she didn’t. She was technically breaking the rules with her fling, and Roger wouldn’t be pleased if she went around bragging about breaking the rules. Anyways, it wasn’t serious. Taking about it would make it seem like a bigger deal than it actually was. Laura was going to leave, and this was all going to be a fun memory. They’d known that from the start.

It was nice, having someone to date. Etta was having a lot of fun with Laura. That was all.

* * *

 

Laura opened her hotel room door. She looked kind of tired, but she was clearly happy to see Etta. 

“Hey, stranger. Lookin’ good.”

“You’re not so bad yourself,” Etta said, smiling.

Laura stood aside to let Etta in.

It was a fairly standard hotel room. Nowhere near as nice as the Transcontinental Hotel had been, of course, but few hotels were. Still, Etta couldn’t help but be reminded of her childhood home. 

She pushed down the nostalgia as best she could, focusing on Laura.

“So, I have the movie queued up, and I’ve got microwave popcorn ready to be popped.”

“You’ve thought of everything.”

“Hey, if you’re going to watch a cinematic masterpiece for the first time, you gotta have popcorn. It’s not a movie night without it.”

The movie was pretty good. Etta was relieved; she’d hoped she wouldn’t hate Laura’s favorite movie.

Despite how excited she’d been about the movie, Laura fell asleep towards the end, head slumped against Etta’s shoulder. If the movie hadn’t held Etta’s attention so strongly, hearing the calming rhythm of Laura’s breaths would likely have led Etta to follow Laura into sleep. As it was, though, Etta had to see how the heist played out.

When the movie ended, Etta lightly shook Laura’s shoulder. 

Laura blinked blearily at her. It took her a moment to figure out what was happening.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry! I can’t believe I feel asleep during our date!”

“And during a cinematic masterpiece, no less,” Etta teased. “But seriously, don’t worry. I’m not going to take it as a commentary on my dating skills. You seem like you needed the sleep.”

“You’re not wrong. I’ve been going to bed at a decent time the past few nights, but I’ve been having weird dreams.”

“Weird how?” Etta asked, faintly concerned that it might be a sign of Bridge weirdness. 

“Oh, you know. There’s a lot going on, so my brain’s trying to process being surrounded by ocean and everyone talking about this being my big break. Not to mention, not having access to the Internet out here is probably doing wonders for my imagination. Nothing too exciting; definitely not worth missing part of our date for.”

“Well, the night’s not over yet.”

Laura grinned at that, pulling Etta in for a kiss. After that, talking was abandoned in favor of more interesting things they could do with their mouths.

Later, as Etta was getting dressed, she asked, “When are you free next?”

“Day after tomorrow? There’s a cast thing tomorrow.”

“Day after tomorrow works for me.”

They exchanged one last kiss before Etta left.

* * *

 

The next couple of days were fairly standard, as much as they ever were. Roger had her and Bertie working on the Big Light.

Etta got a call from Laura a couple of hours before their date.

“What’s up?”

“Can we reschedule for tomorrow? I’m sorry, I’m just—” she yawned “so tired.”

“Of course. Are you okay? Are the dreams getting worse?”

“Don’t worry, I’m only having good dreams. Vivid, but good. I just need to go to bed earlier, I guess.”

Etta wasn’t convinced, but there wasn’t really anything she could do. She asked the others if they’d heard any stories about people having weird dreams, but they didn’t come up with anything.

Sometimes, weird dreams were just weird dreams.

Laura met her the next night. They’d planned to meet up in the middle, but Etta hadn’t told Laura anything else about what she had planned.

Etta got there first and started setting up. She soon had everything laid out, but she kept adjusting things as she waited. She really wanted Laura to be impressed.

Laura showed up a few minutes after Etta finished setting up. 

Her face lit up when she saw what Etta had prepared.

“A picnic! Oh my gosh, that’s so cute!”

“I know we’ve both had dinner already, but I figure you can never have too much dessert.”

“This looks wonderful! Thank you for doing this,” Laura said. “Now, I’m very interested in those muffins.”

“They’re chocolate chip, with raspberry jam filling. And if I do say so myself, they’re very good.”

They sat down to eat. Etta couldn’t help but notice the appreciative sounds Laura was making. Etta wasn’t sure if it was on purpose or if the muffins were just that good, but either way Etta found them very distracting.

Once they were done eating, they laid back to look at the stars.

“It’s so beautiful out here. I wish I didn’t have to leave in a couple weeks.”

“You have the Pacific Ocean back in LA, right?”

“Well, yeah, but that’s different. It’s all beaches and surfing, there. That can be nice, but… I don’t know. The Atlantic just feels more wild, more real.”

“It does,” Etta agreed. “I lived back on the mainland near the Atlantic for some years. It wasn’t as intense from the shore, but it still felt pretty wild.”

“You know, when I met you, I didn’t understand why anyone would want to live out here.”

“And now?”

“Now? I can see the appeal.”

“I guess your movie did manage to convince at least one person that the Bridge was worth going to.”

“It really did. I can’t wait for everyone to see it and realize how beautiful the Bridge is.”

“And then you’ll be famous.”

Laura shrugged slightly. “I mean, we don’t know that for sure. Even if the movie does well, it doesn’t mean that it’ll have a long-term impact on my career.”

“I can’t imagine anyone watching your movie and not wanting to hire you for theirs,” Etta replied.

Laura smiled and didn’t say anything. They stayed silent for a minute, until Etta noticed something.

“Hey, look! A shooting star! Make a wish!” Laura obediently closed her eyes. Etta wondered what she was wishing for. Fame? Or something else?

Laura opened her eyes again. It was getting late, but Etta didn’t want the night to end.

Laura pulled Etta toward her, wrapping an arm around her. In Laura’s arms, Etta felt content in a way she rarely did.

When Etta noticed Laura starting to fall asleep, she decided it was probably time for the date to end, if Laura was going to be awake enough to drive home.

Etta was still worried about Laura, but Laura seemed convinced that it was fine. And, well, maybe Etta was so used to Bridge weirdness that everything seemed like Bridge weirdness.

Laura helped Etta pack up the picnic supplies, then they headed towards their cars. They paused to say goodbye after Etta deposited the blanket and container in the trunk of her car.

“Come to my place again, for our next date.”

“Alright,” Etta said. “When?”

“Day after tomorrow?”

“I can’t wait.” Etta pressed a kiss to Laura’s lips. The kiss deepened, and their plans to leave were briefly derailed as both women became distracted.

Eventually, though, it was time to go. They exchanged one more quick kiss and then parted ways.

The next evening, there was a thunderstorm. Etta was glad they hadn’t planned to meet up that night, since she was busy with the usual storm preparations. 

Etta had seen enough storms on the Bridge to know the routine, but she still wasn’t used to them. It was kind of stunning; beautiful and dangerous at the same time. Laura had wanted to know what a thunderstorm on the Bridge was like; Etta couldn’t wait to hear what she thought of this one.

Etta fell asleep that night to the sound of thunder on her window and thoughts of Laura on her mind. 

* * *

 

The next morning, an almost unprecedented event occurred: someone called the Watchtower for help. As Roger talked on the phone, the others tried to guess what had happened.

“It’s gotta be the movie set somehow, right? There’s still nobody else around,” Bertie asked.

“I bet they found some sort of creature,” Etta said. 

“I bet one of the actors got in a car accident,” Grace offered.

Etta rolled her eyes at Grace. She was kind of morbid, even for the Bridge. Maybe it was a travel agent thing.

Etta wondered whether she’d get to see Laura even earlier than they’d planned, if the film crew needed the Watchtower’s help with something. 

Roger got off the phone, looking serious.

“So, that was the film crew. One of the actresses went missing, and they found a metal statue of her in her pajamas. So a couple of us need to go over there and, y’know, determine whether the girl got turned into a statue and deal with the crew. Bertie, Grace, you’re on it.”

The pair agreed and left, chatting as they did so. 

“Which actress was it?” Etta finally asked.

“They said it was ‘Laura Fremont’. Was that—“ Etta nodded. “Right, um, sorry to hear that.”

“I’m going to go check how Bob’s doing now that the storm’s over.” She had to get away.

“Alright. Uh, if you need anything--- well, you know.”

Etta nodded and hurried out of the room.

Once she got down to Submare 3, she finally let herself cry.

* * *

 

They brought Laura back to the Watchtower. The film crew didn’t want to believe that it was really her. They thought it was some sick joke. Roger asked Etta if it was going to be a problem, having Laura’s statue around, but Etta said it wouldn’t be. If they didn’t take it, Etta didn’t know what would happen to it.

Bertie put Laura in the greenhouse. Etta avoided it for a couple of days before finally creeping down in the middle of the night to see her.

The statue was Laura, all right. Etta had known that, but seeing it for herself was something else. She looked just as Etta remembered her. Same wavy hair, same kind eyes. She was smiling. She looked peaceful. Like she’d known what was going to happen and was fine with it.

Etta didn’t know what to say. Only a few days ago, Etta had held Laura’s warm, living body in her arms. Now, she was cold metal. 

“I’m sorry,” Etta whispered, briefly touching Laura’s hand before turning and leaving the room.

It would be a long time before Etta was entirely comfortable in the greenhouse again.


End file.
